Mortal Sensations

Prologue

The sky was bright and clear, the air was fresh and devoid of any signs of Naraku, despite the half-breed’s seemingly constant presence for the past three days. It was as though he was attempting to lure Sesshomaru to his castle, but had hastily decided against it that morning. That was fine with the demon Lord; he had other matters to attend to.

Instead, the smell of burning flesh wafted calmly in the cool air, making its way to Sesshomaru’s nose in the most leisurely fashion. The trees clipped and crinkled their leaves together with the breeze that pulled the scent around the clearing, as Sesshomaru opened his eyes to find Rin tending carefully to a delectable looking fish. They’d set up a small camp of sorts little away from a stream; Rin was in need of rest. Sesshomaru had made himself cosy by the complex root system of a large tree, and had quickly found Jaken snoozing to his left, his raking snores echoing in Sesshomaru’s elegantly large ears uncomfortably.

Sesshomaru watched stonily as Rin yawned hugely and poked curiously at the fish sizzling above the fire she’d set up. His eyes lingered on the purple ring wrapped around the little girl’s tiny wrists, the one on her right, appearing to be darker than the other.

They’d had a particularly exciting day thus far and it was barely midday (if the sun’s position in the centre of the very blue sky was anything to go by): The humans around the area seemed to think that they were strong enough to defeat a demon as powerful as Sesshomaru was, and had attempted to steal his charge from him under the guise of trying to save her. There had been five of them. All of them were scrawny looking men and, as Sesshomaru had often found, they possessed ears hacked from stone; they hadn’t listened to Rin’s words as they clasped at her tiny wrists tightly, nor his warnings should they attempt such an act such as attacking him or taking Rin from his sight.

They’d attacked with rusted, brown weapons and fearsome yells that barely caused Sesshomaru to twitch and Rin to hide behind the Lord’s white, silk clad legs as she kicked the one holding her in the shin and scuttled to Sesshomaru clumsily. Even then, Sesshomaru remembered steadying Rin and gently pushing her behind him as they accused him of using spells to morph the girl’s mind, to make her think that he cared. Sesshomaru eyed the fish that Rin was starting to pick the meat off, her small hands careful to not grasp transparent bone as she hummed pleasantly and ate her meal whilst blowing on the steamy pieces.

A loud snore put a stop to Sesshomaru’s staring as his thoughts returned to the battle. It had lasted barely a minute, after Sesshomaru had ordered Jaken to finish them off. He had, with much vigour and a “Yes, m’Lord!”. The demon Lord hadn’t expected the elderly demon to last as long as he had; Sesshomaru knew of the amount of energy the toad demon used whenever he used the Staff of the Two Heads to protect himself and Rin. Jaken was improving, usually he would not have been able to handle any more than two bursts of flames, but he’d successfully defeated five humans with three. One had scampered away like a hare being tracked by a dog and Sesshomaru had let him flee; he could warn all the other foolish humans in the area of his presence.

A tiny voice squeezed through his thoughts, “Lord Sesshomaru, would you like some?”

Sesshomaru eyed the human girl that peered up at him with doe brown eyes that seemed far too large for her pretty face. In her raised hands was a clay bowl bearing a picked at cooked fish, “I do not eat human food.” He stated softly, with a deceivingly emotionless, golden stare.

It was like a routine, Sesshomaru realized as Rin smiled and nodded, and Jaken snored and rolled over. Before she finished eating, the little, human girl would ask him if he’d want some and he’d always reply with the same thing. Always. Sesshomaru liked the monotonous nature of their routine; he sought comfort in knowing that even if their environment changed, he’d always have Rin, Jaken and Ah Un to treat as he’d always treated. New humans needed to be dealt with carefully and harshly, until they waved their pathetic tools at the demon Lord, and he would slaughter a few of them in order to gain their fear. The foolish mortals forgot who ruled them, and this mission was in order to remind them.

The sound of unorganised thumping would have been lost to human ears and Sesshomaru’s gaze immediately turned to his left, slowly passing his faithful dragon whose twin heads rose from their grazing with a stern growling roar. The demon Lord frowned and rose to his feet, his swords clattering soundly against each other and his light armour as he stepped leisurely around Rin and up to where Ah Un was standing, "Leave. You will scare them much more than I will." He told the dragon quietly, "Find me in a day." He listened carefully to the rumbling thunder rushing closer and closer, as Ah Un gave a growl of understanding and kicked itself off the ground and into the air. It wasn't long until Sesshomaru was met with many lankier, weak humans bursting from the forest and creating a wall of flesh in front of him.

The demon Lord’s expression didn’t change, even as the humans took bravery inducing large breathes and threw insults and curses at him. From behind him, Sesshomaru heard Rin gasp and narrowed his eyes.

“See, Witch! There he is!”

“He’s the vile demon that killed the other villagers!”

“Destroy him, Witch! Protect us!”

Sesshomaru smothered the snort that threatened to erupt from his firmly set lips, as he watched a small, hunched, elderly woman limp through the crowd of angry men. She possessed fearsome eyes of a dark, dark brown and that seemed to show off the accumulated knowledge she’d gained over the few years she’d lived. Her skin was sun darkened and hung from her far too thin limbs in heavy wrinkles, her hair in the same state from her head, the strands stringy and of a dull grey. There are leaves tangled in it also, as though she hadn’t brushed it in days.

The demon Lord’s first impression of her didn’t get any better when she regarded with a disrespectful stare, one that caused him to draw himself straighter, so he loomed over each and every being present before him, “Are you here for any particular reason demon?” Her voice was like that of a creaking gate and she continued after a brief pause, “I have not seen you in these parts before. Why is it you attacked our men and have stolen that child?”

With the same regard as she’d held for him, Sesshomaru examined the old lady. His mind immediately told him to be polite; he needed this area of his lands to fall peaceful and to be improved; he didn’t need rebel humans, with all the jewel crazed demons terrorizing his villagers as it was. This was what he’d feared, this part of his lands had gone unnoticed for far too long. Sesshomaru made sure he remembered to warn and punish the few who cared for his lands; the humans had forgotten him and they had forgotten them in return.

His voice was clear, sonorous and loud enough for the gaggling crowd to hear despite their aggravated chatter, “I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the Lands you stand on.” He paused and scouted their reactions, finding that they ranged from surprise with the elderly men and foolish, clueless expression on the younger lads’ faces. He continued, “It has been some time since I have had the chance to visit the villages in this area; I am certain you have heard rumours of a half-demon known as Naraku. I am here to learn of your living conditions and on ways to improve it.”

A wave of whispering swooped through the crowd. The elderly human woman frowned and waved the crowd into silence, “I see. And the girl? Who was the mother you stole her from?”

He inhaled deeply and soundlessly through his nose and replied patiently, “She is my charge. Her family were killed before we crossed paths.”

“I do not believe you, demon.” The lady remarked, in a tone that irritated Sesshomaru greatly, almost as much as her blatant disrespect did. It made him feel as though he was dealing with a much more human, much more female and a much quieter Inuyasha, “The girl is terrified.”

Sesshomaru expression acted as a screen for the feeling of annoyance welling in his chest as Rin's knees shook from where she sat under the tree, “I am not the one waving pitchforks at their village’s guests.” He answered curtly, only to gain a whispered wave of annoyance from the villagers.

His golden eyes swept over the crowd; Sesshomaru remembered his father making the gesture when he tried to convey his good will and his power to his audience, and looked each villager in the eye, “I am here to learn. I cannot be expected to aid your village, if you do not allow me to inspect it. Many of the villages closer to my castle prosper, however, it seems as though my officials have not been attending to the work at hand here, to my satisfaction.” It seemed as though Sesshomaru had put far too much trust in them; his slackening his restraints on them had caused them to become lazy and reckless.

“Demon,” Sesshomaru would have scowled had he not so stubbornly decided to be polite (his mother had always been critical of his etiquette), “We do not trust you.”

“I am afraid, I cannot help you then. Rin,” The little girl replied politely and with a slight bow. Sesshomaru could hear her small heart pumping hard from within her chest; she was like a frightened baby bird just out of her nest, “We are leaving. Wake Jaken.”

The elderly demon was still snoring by the tree he’d first fallen asleep under. Sesshomaru would need to remember to leave Jaken behind in the future; there was no doubt in his mind that the toad demon meant well, but he would slow him down and Sesshomaru hated stringing along extra baggage. He was sure he could find something for the demon to do in his elderly state.

“I think not.” The woman claimed stubbornly, stupidly, as the little girl hurried to the toad demon's side. She halted a few feet away from him, “You will die, as will your demon companion; you have obviously poisoned the girl’s mind!”

Without warning Sesshomaru found hammers and other assorted tools being launched in his direction. He dodged them easily enough, making his movements seem more like a dance than those of a person avoiding injury. He stepped left and did so again as a clumsy villager rushed forward whilst wielding a wooden, heavy axe and attempted to slice away at Sesshomaru’s midsection. The demon’s hair was like a magnificent cape, fanning out behind him as he danced his way across the clearing with little to no effort.

His molten gold eyes remained on his opponents, only removing themselves with a flash as Rin let out a startled yelp. She was being man handled by that witch! Sesshomaru frowned, quickly, as though stepping down from a podium, he moved to launch himself towards the elderly mortal and his young charge.

“Ah-ah-ah!” The woman pulled Rin to her chest as she wrapped a wrinkly arm around the girl’s throat. Sesshomaru supposed it would have been an affectionate gesture, had Rin’s teeth not been chattering and the woman not holding a small, brown paper package as though it would explode in her fingers. The demon Lord immediately halted, “Now, now. You can not deny that the girl is human and you are not. Demon, she belongs with us.”

Sesshomaru supposed that was true. Rin was definitely human, just as he was a demon of noble heritage; but Rin was his charge. She would remain with him until he told her she could leave or she decided so. The witch had no say in the matter, “Release her.” He commanded, with a tone that wasn’t peppered with emotion, “Immediately.”

“No.”

A pathetic whine roared above the noise, “Lord Sesshomaru…” Rin’s small voice sounded much louder to Sesshomaru’s elegantly pointed ears than anything the witch had and as though using sorcery, he sped forward. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the woman who, as he lifted his remaining, glowing hand, clearly ready to strike her, flung herself and Rin backwards whilst throwing the suspicious packet to his feet.

It burst with a cloud of green smoke. Sesshomaru felta smirk start to pull at his thin lips; poison? Was the witch that much of a fool? He moved to hunt her, but was surprised to find that his throat began to burn as though he’d had a fire lit inside it as he inhaled the smoke. He clutched at his throat, willing the pain to leave him. Now. However, he found that it stubbornly held firm and began to grip the rest of his body with it.

What was this? What was happening? No mere poison could kill him! Sesshomaru coughed, a rare action on his part, and did so again and again. His throat felt as though he’d swallowed his own fluorescent acid! He fought to remove the toxic substance from his lungs, from his body, hacking and choking on the smog. His chest began to ache.

No. This would not happen! He would not die! Rin was his ward, his human! He held her life in his hands! He was responsible for her! Idly, Sesshomaru heard an indignant squawk come from outside of the thick smoke. Immediately he knew it was Jaken. He’d been killed or knocked unconscious, though Sesshomaru knew the aforementioned was the most likely. Anger swirled within him, as though a hurricane ready to rip mountains from their roots.

He tried to step forward only to find his legs feeling as though they were made of the heaviest of metal and instead collapsed to his knees with his long fingered hand clutched over his mouth and nose. He felt his muscles slacken and become heavier still, as tiny, black spiders began to creep across his vision.

“No,” He gasped as the green haze began to dissipate with the wind, his usually sonorous voice shaky and rasped, “No!”

He felt nothing as his vision faltered and turned black, whilst the roar around him became a cold, lonely silence. A mere human woman had killed him, Sesshomaru’s mind offered quietly, with an inferior poison than what his own body created? Would Ah Un track his scent and discover his master dead? Would Rin grow to be the human he'd been planning on her becoming? The demon Lord’s mind was filled with cotton and he succumbed to the pitch blackness that urged him to lie as though in death.